BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – After Palm Bay police said two teenagers were shot and killed in December, the Brevard Sheriff’s Office announced the remains of Nancy Howery, 44, were discovered last week in the city’s undeveloped neighborhood called the Compound.
“She was funny. She was happy,” Yascara Tom, a friend of Howery’s, said.
Tom added that Howery was a single mother of two who met the suspect in the case — Daniel Stearns — on a dating app.
According to Tom, Howery was upset because Stearns didn’t make special plans for Valentine’s Day.
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The next day, Indian Harbour Beach police said Howery wasn’t there to pick up her children from school.
Howery was missing until a week ago, when the Stearns reportedly shot Howery after an argument before dismembering and burning her body over the course of a few days, the sheriff’s office stated. He later buried her remains, deputies said.
“He’s a monster,” Tom said.
Howery’s friends started a Justice for Nancy Facebook group to share news about the investigation.
In two weeks, the Palm Bay City Council is expected to seek solutions to stop similar tragedies from happening in the Compound.
Unlike Howery’s case, there are still no arrests in the Christmas homicides of a 16-year-old and 14-year-old Jeremiah Brown.
Tom said she hopes Stearns receives a life sentence.
“I wish he awakes every single morning and thinks, ‘I never will marry. I never will raise kids.’ That’s what I want,” she said.
Palm Bay’s workshop about the Compound is scheduled for Thursday, March 30, at 6 p.m. The special meeting will be open to the public.
To donate to the family’s GoFundMe, click here.
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